A guidebook sought to help grassroots communities analyze power with a view to achieving social change. Making change happen meant understanding both the power that prevented change from happening – protecting an unjust status quo – and the power within individuals and communities to create change.
Source: Raji Hunjan and Jethro Pettit, Power: A Practical Guide for Facilitating Social Change, Carnegie UK Trust
Date: 2011-Dec
An employers' organization called on the government to 'step up the pace of action' on community budgets. It highlighted the benefits of sharing resources and collaborating at a local level. Community budgets would allow the government to tackle complex social issues by co-ordinated action between health, education, police, probation, and welfare services – saving local authorities around £18 billion annually in England alone.
Source: Joining Up, Joining In: Why the time is right for expanding community budgets, Confederation of British Industry/Municipal Journal
Links: Report | CBI press release
Date: 2011-Dec
An article examined attempts to enhance social capital, reduce negative area effects, and improve life chances in deprived neighbourhoods by promoting social diversity. The management of perceived, and actual, risks to social cohesion from some poorer households was a central concern in the promotion of socially diverse neighbourhoods.
Source: Joanne Bretherton and Nicholas Pleace, 'A difficult mix: issues in achieving socioeconomic diversity in deprived United Kingdom neighbourhoods', Urban Studies, Volume 48 Number 16
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Dec
A new book examined the effects of de-industrialization on the lives of women and men in the communities affected, and how they responded to the challenges it posed.
Source: Valerie Walkerdine and Luis Jimenez, Gender, Work and Community After De-Industrialisation: A psychosocial approach to affect, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Dec
A taskforce report said that early action should be a fundamental principle shaping the way in which both government and civil society spent their resources and judged their success. Investing wisely and early in social well-being yielded a 'triple dividend' – thriving lives, costing less, contributing more. The report put forward a set of ideas and initiatives for developing communities in which early intervention was the norm.
Source: Early Action Task Force, The Triple Dividend: Thriving Lives, costing less, contributing more, Community Links
Links: Report | Summary | Community Links press release
Date: 2011-Nov
A report examined the activities and achievements of 12 pilot partnerships created between social housing providers and community-based groups.
Source: Chris Wadhams, Mary Carter, and John Coburn, Together for Communities: Experiences from partnerships, transforming neighbourhoods, Housing Associations Charitable Trust
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Nov
An article examined the skills needed to manage sustainable and cohesive communities. In ethnically divided places such as Northern Ireland, the notion of collaboration was largely conceptual.
Source: Brendan Murtagh and Geraint Ellis, 'Skills, conflict and spatial planning in Northern Ireland', Planning Theory & Practice, Volume 12 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Nov
A new book examined the impacts of 'social mix' policies in urban planning, and the degree to which they might represent gentrification by stealth.
Source: Gary Bridge, Tim Butler, and Loretta Lees (eds.), Mixed Communities: Gentrification by stealth?, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Oct
A paper examined three case studies (in England, France, and the Netherlands) in order to assess how different approaches to neighbourhood working had facilitated and constrained civic participation and action. Citizen participation could not always replace local government: sometimes it required its support and stimulation.
Source: Catherine Durose, Jonathan France, Liz Richardson, and Ruth Lupton, Towards the Big Society : What role for neighbourhood working? Evidence from a comparative European study, CASEpaper 154, Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (London School of Economics)
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Oct
An article used a merged dataset from the 2005 and 2007 Citizenship Surveys to assess the evidence for an association between social cohesion and ethnic residential concentration, composition, and area deprivation across different ethnic groups. Increased levels of social cohesion were found in areas of greater ethnic residential heterogeneity.
Source: Laia Becares, Mai Stafford, James Laurence, and James Nazroo, ' Composition, concentration and deprivation: exploring their association with social cohesion among different ethnic groups in the UK', Urban Studies, Volume 48 Number 13
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Oct
A study examined attitudes and behaviours of residents of 6 areas in Northern Ireland with respect to their views on their 'own' community and the communities around them. In particular the research set out to provide socio-psychological 'explanations' of the intransigence of sectarian attitudes and behaviours within networks in these communities.
Source: Fiona Bloomer, Stevie Nolan, Peter Maguire, Mel Corry, Alice McLarnon, Peter Weinreich, Allen Erskine, Colin McNeill, and Esther O Sullivan, Community Identities and a Shared Future for N. Ireland?, Northern Ireland Executive
Date: 2011-Oct
A report summarized the latest research and debate concerning the opportunity for community organizations to buy or manage assets for local benefit.
Source: Julian Dobson, Community Assets: Emerging learning, challenges and questions, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Sep
The coalition government published a statement seeking to clarify its proposal (in the Localism Bill) for local communities in England to be given the opportunity to buy 'assets of community value' if they came up for sale.
Source: Assets of Community Value – Policy Statement, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Statement
Date: 2011-Sep
A literature review examined the role of the community and social governance in community-led regeneration. There was confusion and ambiguity with regard to the terminology used in describing approaches to community-led regeneration: the literature reflected differences in interpretation of the terms community 'engagement', 'participation', and 'empowerment'. Structural and socio-economic barriers existed that had the potential to distance individuals and communities from involvement in community-led regeneration: these barriers were not uniform but were multi-faceted and fluid.
Source: Patricia Campbell, Community-Led Regeneration: A Review of Literature, Scottish Government
Links: Literature review | Summary
Date: 2011-Sep
A report said that social change, including the struggle that families faced in balancing work and family responsibilities, could lead to reduced levels of supervision for teenagers and lack of support for elderly grandparents. This translated into costly and challenging decisions about care provision for both the family and the state. There was a need for the creation of strong intergenerational relationships to be a key priority for those making decisions about the development of public spaces and in the handling of community assets.
Source: Think Intergenerational: Connecting generations to support communities, 4Children
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Sep
The coalition government published a summary of responses to a consultation on a 'community right to buy'. Over 81 per cent of respondents agreed that local authorities in England should be given the power to decide what constituted an asset of 'community value' – one which the community would be given the opportunity to buy if it came up for sale.
Source: Proposals to Introduce a Community Right to Buy – Assets of Community Value – Consultation: Summary of Responses, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Consultation responses | Inside Housing report
Notes: Consultation document (February 2011)
Date: 2011-Aug
An article examined the different kinds of community self-help and its socio-spatial variations – based on interviews conducted in affluent and deprived, urban and rural, English communities.
Source: Colin Williams, 'Socio-spatial variations in community self-help: a total social organisation of labour perspective', Social Policy and Society, Volume 10 Issue 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jul
An article examined the implications of the New Deal for Communities (NDC) Programme (launched by the previous Labour government in 1998) for community-level decision making, a theme central to the coalition government's 'Big Society'. The NDC experience pointed to problems including: intra-community strife, lack of engagement, and incorrect perceptions by community representatives about the scale of local problems.
Source: Paul Lawless, 'Big Society and community: lessons from the 1998- 2011 New Deal for Communities Programme in England', People, Place & Policy, Volume 5 Issue 2
Links: Article
Date: 2011-Jul
A think-tank report examined the state of civic life and described what in practical terms was required to get more people involved. It set out a range of measures aimed at removing barriers to community participation; supporting better civic involvement; and encouraging companies to redesign their corporate social responsibility strategies.
Source: Richard Wilson and Matt Leach with Oli Henman, Henry Tam, and Jouna Ukkonen, Civic Limits: How much more involved can people get?, ResPublica
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Jul
An article examined the barriers to participation that prevented households from doing more for others in their community. It said that social barriers and capital-based barriers to participation in mutual aid needed to be given more equal consideration in future policy-making.
Source: Richard White, 'Re-visiting the barriers to participation in mutual aid', International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Volume 31 Issue 7/8
Links: Table of contents
Date: 2011-Jul
A briefing paper examined participatory budgeting (designed to involve local communities in local spending decisions), how it had worked, and the coalition government's proposals to expand the process.
Source: Chris Sear, Participatory Budgeting, Standard Note SN/PC/04790, House of Commons Library
Links: Briefing paper
Date: 2011-Jun
A study examined the ownership and management of assets – such as land, buildings, and plant used to generate electricity – by community-based organizations. There was a diverse range of organizations engaged in this work, and particular kinds of support were needed if the field were to flourish.
Source: Mike Aiken, Ben Cairns, Marilyn Taylor, and Rebecca Moran, Community Organisations Controlling Assets: A better understanding, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Date: 2011-Jun
A report examined the full range of assets tangible and intangible – that were available in every place, and developed an alternative approach to using them to build sustainable communities.
Source: Tara O'Leary, Ingrid Burkett, and Kate Braithwaite, Appreciating Assets, Carnegie UK Trust/International Association for Community Development
Links: Report | Carnegie press release
Date: 2011-Jun
An article examined new ways in which social work research could explore the interaction between neighbourhoods and child and adult well-being.
Source: Sally Holland, Stephen Burgess, Andy Grogan-Kaylor, and Jorge Delva, 'Understanding neighbourhoods, communities and environments: new approaches for social work research', British Journal of Social Work, Volume 41 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
An article examined people's attitudes toward the kind of desegregated society that the Northern Ireland Executive said that it wanted to achieve. Using two case studies in education and housing, it highlighted the benefits of a shared society: but questioned whether Northern Ireland could embrace the core elements of an intercultural society.
Source: Colin Knox, 'Cohesion, sharing, and integration in Northern Ireland', Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Volume 29 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jun
A new book examined the changing fortunes of the community development movement from the 1950s to the present.
Source: Gary Craig, Marjorie Mayo, Keith Popple, Mae Shaw, and Marilyn Taylor (eds.), The Community Development Reader: History, themes and issues, Policy Press
Links: Summary | Durham University press release
Date: 2011-May
A new book examined community cohesion policy and paradigms. It said that the underpinning elements of social cohesion were an essential prerequisite for better relationships.
Source: Peter Ratcliffe and Ines Newman (eds.), Promoting Social Cohesion: Implications for policy and evaluation, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-May
A report examined trends, challenges, and innovative practices on active inclusion at local level in 10 cities throughout the European Union (including Birmingham).
Source: Cities for Active Inclusion Network, Cities and Active Inclusion: Quality of social services and the social economy – Key lessons from cities, European Commission
Date: 2011-May
A commission report examined how the property industry could support communities to take on additional powers and responsibilities in the context of the government's plans for localism in England.
Source: Land and Society Commission, The Land and Society Commission Report, Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Links: Report | RICS press release
Date: 2011-May
A study examined the contributions that neighbourhood working had made to more active citizenship and the improvement of public services and neighbourhoods, in a northern city (Bradford) with an ethnically diverse population. It also examined how the coalition government's policy on localism and the 'Big Society' might affect neighbourhood working.
Source: Liz Richardson, Working in Neighbourhoods in Bradford, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Date: 2011-Apr
An article said that the legitimacy of community-based organizations was 'fragile and open to challenge', and was weak according to the norms of legitimacy derived from the representative democratic tradition or the standpoint of modern deliberative democracy.
Source: Steve Connelly, 'Constructing legitimacy in the new community governance', Urban Studies, Volume 48 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Apr
A think-tank report said that out-of-town shops should be taxed in order to generate subsidies that could be used to ensure the survival of smaller retailers on the 'traditional' high street.
Source: Adam Schoenborn, The Right to Retail: Can localism save Britain s small retailers?, ResPublica
Links: Report | ResPublica press release
Date: 2011-Apr
An article examined social capital levels in a community consultation body in Northern Ireland. Membership of the forum increased the bonding, bridging, and linking social capital of its members and appeared to improve community relations. But the empirical link between social capital and the quality of community relations remained unproven.
Source: Jenny Muir, 'Bridging and linking in a divided society: a social capital case study from Northern Ireland', Urban Studies, Volume 48 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Apr
A new textbook provided an introduction to community development, its origins, and some of the latest trends and challenges. It looked at how community development could be applied in different practice domains to achieve a range of policy objectives.
Source: Alison Gilchrist and Marilyn Taylor, The Short Guide to Community Development, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Apr
A report evaluated the national pilot of the 'Schools Linking Network', designed to support the implementation of the duty on schools in England to promote community cohesion. Linking had the greatest positive impact when the children at the linked schools met two or more times a year. School linking could have a positive impact on many aspects of pupils' skills, attitudes, perceptions, and behaviours – particularly respect for others, self-confidence, and 'self-efficacy'.
Source: David Kerr et al., Evaluation of the Schools Linking Network: Final Report, Research Report RR090, Department for Education
Links: Report | Brief | NFER press release
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined the community empowerment programme in England between 2001 and 2008, and identified lessons for the future. The original ambition of the programme – to empower communities to become equal partners in the task of neighbourhood renewal – had been undermined by inconsistent central government policy and opposition from local authorities. But the programme did pioneer and promote new participative methods that were increasingly commonplace. Future empowerment policies needed to be made available to the most deprived communities.
Source: John Houghton and Toby Blume, 'Poverty, power and policy dilemmas: lessons from the community empowerment programme in England', Journal of Urban Regeneration and Renewal, Volume 4 Number 3
Date: 2011-Mar
A report summarized the findings from research into the implications of globalization for poverty and communities in the United Kingdom.
Source: Teresa Hanley, Globalisation, UK Poverty and Communities, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Links: Report
Date: 2011-Mar
A study examined the ways in which conflicts overseas affected communities in the United Kingdom.
Source: Michael Collyer et al., The Impact of Overseas Conflict on UK Communities, Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Date: 2011-Mar
An article examined the relationship between victimhood status and public perceptions concerning the perpetrators of the Northern Ireland conflict. It questioned the claim that victims should constitute the 'moral beacon' in post-conflict societies, against which other people measured their own capacity for forgiveness or revenge.
Source: John Brewer and Bernadette Hayes, 'Victims as moral beacons: victims and perpetrators in Northern Ireland', Contemporary Social Science, Volume 6 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Feb
The government began consultations on the 'community right to challenge' and 'community right to buy' (both proposed in the Localism Bill). Under the community right to buy, local groups would have a legal right to nominate any vital community asset – including local shops, pubs, libraries and leisure centres – to be assessed for recording on a 'most wanted' list by the local council: if the owner wanted to sell it, the local community would be given time to prepare an offer before it went on the open market. The community right to challenge would give community or voluntary sector groups, as well as parish councils and council employees, new powers to challenge and take over a local service.
Source: Proposals to Introduce a Community Right to Buy: Assets of Community Value – Consultation paper, Department for Communities and Local Government | Proposals to Introduce a Community Right to Challenge: Consultation paper, Department for Communities and Local Government
Links: Consultation document (1) | Consultation document (2) | DCLG press release
Date: 2011-Feb
An article examined a police-led 'truth-recovery process' in Northern Ireland, and its role in a post-conflict society.
Source: Patricia Lundy, 'Paradoxes and challenges of transitional justice at the "local" level: historical enquiries in Northern Ireland', Contemporary Social Science, Volume 6 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Feb
A new book examined policy and research approaches to 'community', including new concepts such as community cohesion, social capital, and community capacity-building.
Source: Peter Somerville, Understanding Community: Politics, policy and practice, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2011-Feb
An article examined a 'social transformation initiative' involving community groups in a highly segregated area of west Belfast (Northern Ireland).
Source: Colin Knox, 'Peace building in Northern Ireland: a role for civil society', Social Policy and Society, Volume 10 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2011-Jan
A briefing paper examined policies aimed at preventing violent extremism and building resilient communities; the links between integration, shared values, and resilience; and the potential role of the 'Big Society' agenda in bringing about change.
Source: Ewan King and Sanah Sheikh, Resilience and Integration: A Way Forward, Office of Public Management
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jan
A paper examined the economic consequences – and potential benefits – of local community development programmes.
Source: Martin Knapp, Annette Bauer, Margaret Perkins, and Tom Snell, Building Community Capacity: Making an Economic Case, Discussion Paper 2772, Personal Social Services Research Unit
Links: Paper
Date: 2011-Jan